It was Pamela’s voice. Darcy woke up instantly. She quickly tidied her shirt and then said, “Come in.” “Ms. Quint, we got bad news from the bank.” Pamela came clacking in with her heels and she looked ashen. “The banks that we worked with just called and informed us that we did not pass the verifications for the loan. Without the loan, we won’t even have ten billion.” Despite the company having a healthy cash flow, it was impossible for them to keep that much cash in the bank account without making any investments. Therefore, it was necessary to make loans to bid for the land in Seven Stars District. They had applied for the loan through multiple banks and after the procedures, they were one step away from getting the loan, yet all the banks turned on them at once. It must be Aiden. Their working partners turned on them, the banks ceased their loan applications, and all those happened within half an hour. Aiden was fierce and ruthless with his methods. Darcy did not e
Darcy rubbed her swelling temples. “We still have to get five billion…” “Not just five billion.” Pamela wore a bitter look and continued, “Five billion is just enough for us to participate in the auction. In order to win the auction, we at least need another fifteen billion. “Ten billion is enough for us to win the auction, and the other five billion is the funds prepared for the suppliers and to maintain the basic operation of the company…” Pamela was right. It was not practical to empty out the company’s account. “Based on the current situation, we believe the Krad family has falsified all kinds of financial problems to damage our company’s image, causing the banks to withhold our loan applications. “We cannot cut our expenses now but have to increase it. The suppliers demand us to clear the payment fully and immediately, or else it practically admits to the public that we are having financial problems…” She sounded helpless as she read out the report to Darcy. Kaze w
Before this, Pamela was all fired up and was ready to face any challenges from the Krad family. Yet after she witnessed what Aiden did in just one day, her confidence was shattered. She felt inferior and weak in front of Aiden. Kaze, on the other hand, should look into the mirror instead of speaking like a clown, claiming that he could deal with Aiden. Slam! Darcy slammed the table, her expression darkened. “Shut up!” Pamela looked at Darcy, frightened. She had never seen her boss this angry, not even when Aiden threatened her on the phone. Darcy was protective of her useless husband and it surprised Pamela. “Darcy, calm down. You don’t need to worry about all that. Just take some rest.” Kaze calmed her down and seated her back on the chair. He said gently, “As for the auction, leave it to me.” Pamela rolled her eyes once more. She still assumed Kaze was useless and wanted to act like he had the power. Why would he ask Darcy to rest instead of urging her to make
Pamela bowed at Kaze and begged him, saying, “Even if you ignore me and won’t do it, what about Ms. Quint? Have you considered her? Must you make her lose everything before you are satisfied?” Kaze glanced at the women coldly and bellowed, “Can you shut up? I have been putting up with your nonsense until now because you are Darcy’s employee. One more word of nonsense and I will make you leave immediately.” He had had it with the woman’s negative thoughts. “You…” Pamela was frustrated. She did not expect the useless trash who always bragged about what he could do to scold her. Darcy put on a strict look and said, “Pamela, Kaze’s words are my words. I am willing to give him a chance to try and that means I have already made up my mind. “You are my assistant. You can provide me with suggestions but after the decision is made, you just have to carry it out, not question me. “From the moment you saw Kaze, you’ve been disrespecting him and I didn’t even say anything about that.
While Pamela struggled to make sense of the situation, Kaze led Darcy out of the office. After walking out of the main entrance, Kaze brought Darcy to the riverside beside the building for a stroll. He wanted to let her relax her mind and body. Their driver was tailing them. Darcy never tried strolling by the riverside to relax but she followed Kaze anyway. “Feeling better now?” Kaze asked with a smile as the wind caressed their faces. With two billion credited into the company account, they could pay the bank immediately. More importantly, it also cleared up the rumor about Sky Ocean Corporation having financial problems. “I feel better now. I even believe that you can help me pay ten billion tomorrow,” Darcy said with a sweet smile. “But, I think you owe me an explanation about how you get the money. Is Perfect World Group that rich?” Darcy knew Kaze was more than met the eye. He was not the useless trash that others claimed him to be. He easily got two billion in
Kaze could do nothing about Darcy’s jealousy but steeled himself up and said, “Of course I am a good boss. If I can’t help my employee in times of need, how can I leave her in charge while I am away?” His words made sense. Kaze always presented himself to people as an idle person with a lot of free time at hand. Perfect World Group was a big company and Snow had to take care of everything because she was capable. “You and your strange theory.” Darcy grunted and then asked, “Then what about Buffy Gwake? She’s not your employee, but I heard someone tried to help her become the chairwoman of Gwake Corporation, and even became the vice chairman himself.” Sensing the dangerous gaze from her eyes, Kaze quickly said, “It’s that one time. I actually got a billion shares of Gwake Corporation because of that.” In other words, it was purely business and nothing more. Darcy scoffed, “Then what about before that? Aside from the fact that you let her stay in the villa, I also heard t
“Get out of the way, you shithead!” The two young skateboarders shouted at the man in their way. They even pulled out a knife from their waists, ready to stab the man to clear a path for their escape. Suddenly, the man in the trenchcoat lifted his arm and revealed a small handgun in his hand. Thump! Thump! Two shots were fired from the silenced handgun, striking them in the legs. “Ugh!” “Aaarh!” As the two young men cried in pain, they lost balance and crashed on the ground, losing their skateboards in the fall. The two of them lay on the ground, spitting blood. The crash must have broken their ribs. One of them mustered enough strength to look up at the man with resentment. “W-Who the hell are you? Who sent you?” “Leron.” The man in the trenchcoat was standing right in front of them. “The Sharpshooter Leron?!” Shocked, the two young men looked at him in disbelief. “You’ve heard of me? It seems like you are not just some skater boys.” Leron squatted down
Villa No.1. Kaze and Darcy returned home with their hands clung together and it angered Agnes. “Darcy, you are the branch head of the Quint family of Ridgesouth, shouldn’t you be more aware of your image? Why are you being so intimate with a man?” she bellowed. Darcy sighed and said, “Mom, can you please not? What’s wrong with me holding my husband’s hand?” “I am saying this for your own good and you are talking back? You have to present yourself as a mature and responsible person! You should really stay away from this little shit. He will only make you look bad!” Agnes argued. She had been trying to get them to divorce for some time, but Darcy was at Lilyrose until today, so she hadn’t had the chance. Darcy did not want to waste time with her mother. She muttered, “If you are concerned about me, you should ask about my work or transfer one or two billion to my company account…” “What did you say? One billion? Two billion?” Agnes narrowed her eyes. “Nothing.” Darcy di
Kaze watched as the senior citizens took off. The place was quiet as usual, and many things in the unit were left uncollected. “Mr. Lee, does this arrangement work?” Arthur awaited Kaze’s orders. “It will do for now.” After being out for the day, Kaze had seen some stuff. Business was all about making money, but some lines should not be crossed. As long as things remained within reason, there would not be scrutiny or blame. It was astounding the lengths Jet would go to. “The area will be demolished after a while. I want all of the Frosts’ projects on hold. Don’t approve any of them.” One word from Kaze could shake the very foundation of the Frosts’ business. “Alright. My team is on it. “But the Frosts will ask questions and find out who is behind this.” Arthur looked at Kaze worriedly. “They can’t find anything.” No one would know who Kaze was without his permission. It probably never crossed Jet’s mind that Snow had a powerful friend. Otherwise, he woul
Kaze was confused. Surely, the authorities would not disregard human lives and demolish the place by force. “Well, we tried to relocate them, but they refused our services. If they are still not on board, they will be sent to the retirement home tonight.” That was all Pax knew. The retirement home was just another place for the senior citizens to await death. “Is there nothing else you can do? So you signed the contract without thinking about the consequences? Karma will get back at you.” Pax’s shamelessness shocked Arthur. Pax mentioned that he would put the demolition on hold. It had not been long, and now the rights to the land were handed over. “It’s out of my hands. Jet went to my superiors to seal the deal. We are not allowed to intervene. “We had been figuring out ways to reach reconciliation for these senior citizens, but Jet was determined to make them pay.” It was the best Pax could do. He was just an employee, working to make a living. He did not have a say
“I want to see the person in charge of the demolition project now.” It was not a matter of time before the area was bulldozed, but Kaze hoped to delay it. Generally, it would take a large amount of capital to launch a project. Any delay would cause massive losses. Jet had several projects that had been put on hold, and it was a heavy blow to him. If Jet could not fix things quickly enough, all his money tied to the projects would be gone. He would be forced to ditch some projects to cut his losses. “I’ll get him here right now.” Arthur went out to make phone calls. He believed Kaze did the right thing as the senior citizens had nowhere to turn to. The senior citizens could only survive with some help. “Thank you, young man. Why are you helping us?” The senior citizens were old, but they could tell that Kaze genuinely wanted them to be okay. “I don’t think it’s right to bully you.” Kaze looked at the senior citizens earnestly, feeling sorry for them. Jet lack
“We agreed on relocation because we would get a place to stay. “But these people were unreasonable. We were offered only one-third of what everyone else got.” The senior citizens were going to swallow their losses. They just needed the money to live their last days, and they did not have family, to begin with. Later, the same people had their eyes on their money and tried to put them up at an old folks’ home. The senior citizens refused to relocate and finally chose to protect themselves by contacting the media. These people sure left the senior citizens to die. Kaze was sympathetic to the senior citizens. He went back with them to a unit on the ground floor. The place was bare, with several beds placed together. The senior citizens must be sleeping in the same room. There was little to eat, only some water and dry provisions.The old residents did not have much savings. It was good enough that they had something to eat. “Have a cup of water, boy. We don’t have any
“Are you one of those people from the pier? Are you trying to get us to leave?” A grizzled-haired man looked at Kaze warily. “I was just passing by when I saw you struggling with the buckets. I came to help you.” Kaze explained patiently. He could understand why their guards were up. They must have been lied to many times before. “Are you here to help?” “Yes, I am. My companion has gone to get you some water. He’ll be back soon. There’s no need for you to fetch water,” Kaze said kindly. “We’ll pay you.” The senior citizens exchanged glances before accepting Kaze’s gesture. They could not handle the weight of the heavy buckets. “The building here is about to be demolished. Why are you still living here?” Pretending to be in the dark, Kaze asked. “This is our home. Someone is trying to take this land away.” The grizzled-haired man was upset. “What? I thought no one could demolish the building unless they had the residents’ permission.” “You’re right, but there
“Jet sure is bold to ensure business. Isn’t he afraid of shooting himself in the foot?” Kaze had never met a man like Jet. “He has done a lot to get to the top. His ruthless methods got him a lot of money. A lot of people are happy to support him.” Arthur was impressed with Jet’s tactics. However, his approach was too cruel for his liking. “Let’s head to the residential building.” Kaze just wanted to check out the area. He was happy to help when needed. The flashy, red sports car was eye-catching. However, the flamboyant car was uncommon in these places. Most workers would express their amazement, but they would not ask questions. The car pulled up outside a soon-to-be abandoned building. It looked desolate. The power lines and infrastructure were not visible either. Kaze knew that was one of the Frosts’ methods. Sometimes, nothing, not even demolition, was required. The goal was to get the residents out. All Jet needed to do was cut the water and electricity.
“Just tell me what you need, Arthur. You wouldn’t be calling unless you have received orders.” Philip was surprised to get a call from Arthur. Though they were acquainted, they had only communicated because of work. “We have just left Rising Sun. Don’t approve the films for now.” Arthur was blunt. “I can do that, but can I ask why?” Philip was caught in a dilemma because he had just promised Jet to release the films. Philip needed to know if the orders to delay came from a high power who could cover his ass. “Since you got a call from me, you should know that there are eyes on Jet. “You should know what you can and cannot say. Otherwise, you never know when you’re going to lose your job.” Arthur threatened. Philip was reluctant. He accepted Jet’s payment, and now he had to go back on his word. Nevertheless, Arthur was part of the Viper’s Den, and his status was rather unique. Arthur provided services to confidential individuals. These individuals were elites among t
A balanced, profitable dynamic had been developed among the ports in Butterworth. Jet spotted his chance in the lucrative port business. He covertly took out some money to invest in a dying port. The port was situated in a more remote area. Some businesspeople favored more accessible ports. This drove shippers away from the dying port. Jet snagged the steal and improved the logistics and facilities around the area. The port was up and running again. Business at the port was decent enough. As the Frosts would run their business through the port, the local economy took off too. It was a good thing. However, Jet set his sights on several residential buildings around the area. He needed space to accommodate containers. The land was required to make business at the port more profitable. This triggered a whole new thing. Jet could spend some money to buy the residents out of their homes. However, the residents preferred to stay put in their long-time homes. No a
“I’ll keep the bank cards for now. I’ll talk to our superiors and give you a decision. Since the man said that the cards are meant for us, they won’t be going anywhere.” Knox had no idea who Kaze was, but he knew Arthur was with the Viper’s Den. Arthur must be someone from high places. Eli soon put the little incident behind him. He got a call from Aloysius yesterday and was made aware of Jet’s plans. The films had been put on hold for far too long, and the people above Eli were anxious to get things moving. Though Eli was surprised by the review board’s visit, everything was still in his control. Eli left the matter at that without reporting the incident to the higher-ups. The flashy, red car sped along the road. Arthur kept looking back at Kaze, eager to find out about the next plan. Arthur brought Kaze out today to witness how Eli and his team operated. As it happened, Eli adopted such a shallow ploy. Arthur was not surprised, though. Eli’s methods were common.